Area Roundup: Six Rams earn regional baseball honors

SHEPHERDSTOWN – Junior outfielders Ryan Messina and Michael Lott, along with junior pitcher Paul Hvozdovic and freshman reliever Ryan Pansch of the Shepherd University baseball team were selected to all-Region teams.

Messina was a first-team choice by Daktronics and the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA), Lott earned second-team honors from Daktronics and the NCBWA, while Hvozdovic and Pansch gained honorable mention honors from the NCBWA.

Messina is among the nation’s leaders with a .444 batting average. He had 55 runs batted in and 46 runs scored. Messina also belted 13 doubles, a triple and 14 home runs on the year. He had a .515 on-base percentage and a .781 slugging percentage.

Messina gained NCBWA National Hitter of the Week honors for April 17.

Lott has a .406 batting average. He has scored a team-best 54 runs and driven in 32. Lott also has 19 doubles, a pair of triples and three home runs. He set a new Shepherd single season record with 28 stolen bases this season.

Hvozdovic garnered all-Region honors for the second consecutive year. He recorded a 10-5 overall mark with a 3.66 ERA. He had a team-best 85 strikeouts and just 16 walks in 93 innings. Hvozdovic tossed five complete games and a pair of shutouts on the year.

Pansch had a 4-3 record with a pair of saves and a team-best 3.17 ERA in 20 appearances. He had 64 strikeouts and only 16 walks in 54 innings.